Printing & Books: Start at the beginning

It was inevitable that after working on an art book that contained text I would start thinking about printing.  Coincidentally I discovered, a "Printing and Book Arts" class offered locally by Katherine Miller, a MFA Candidate in Printmaking & Book Arts at the UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art.  The class included instruction on making various types of prints, and making a simple book.  A perfect fit for me.

Our introduction to printing was to make "direct trace drawings".  The trace monotype process was invented by Paul Gauguin, and has been used by many painters to create prints.  Monoprints and Monotypes are called the "most painterly printmaking process".  I can understand why.  There is a soft beauty to this spontaneous printing process.  Each print is unique, and the printer directly influences the image during the printing process by adding, subtracting and manipulating the print.

Ink drawing

The setup:

1. Evenly ink a plexiglass plate.  
2. Place a sheet of thin smooth paper on top of the ink.  
3. Place a second slightly larger sheet of piece of paper on top of the first sheet.   

Carefully draw an image on the second sheet of paper.  Pressure from the pencil/pen transfers the ink to the middle sheet of paper.

Pressure print

The resulting print is a reverse of the drawing.  So if you want to add text to your print, you will have to learn how to write backwards.

Where I pressed harder when drawing more ink was transferred.  Where lines were close together or crosshatched more ink was transferred.  You can also see smudges of ink where where my hand leaned on the paper while I was drawing.  Fingers or spoons can be used to add texture.

Handmade Books: dying leather

This past fall I decided it was time to start using the natural vegetable tanned leather I bought a few years ago to make books.   The veg tan leather would need to be cut, dyed and sealed before I could use it to make books.  All of the leather books I previously made used pre-tanned and dyed leather.  I had been hesitant to use the leather until I understood how to dye it.  I read several articles on dying leather and watched several videos tool.  In the end I decided to pick some dyes and give them a try.

Leather is often finished using a tan, brown or black oil or alcohol based dye.  I started by using Fiebing’s Tan Dye.  It took a few coats to cover the leather evenly, but I liked the final color and look of the finished leather.  Fiebing’s site has instructions on how to use their dye. 

I also tried Eco-Flo Dye Pack colors.  These are water based dyes that can be mixed to create a variety of different colors.  I mixed water with the red, blue and green to create lighter shades; and mixed the red and blue to make several different violet and purples.  The resulting leather was colorful but still soft.  The finished books were very well received.

All of the books I made this fall have found new homes!

Handmade Books: stamping

Vegetable tanned leather is perfect for stamping and impressing images.  However, this needs to be done before the leather is dyed and sealed.

Let the leather soak in warm water until it is spongy.  Wipe off the excess water and let the leather sit for a few minutes, until the surface is no longer looks wet.

I have a celtic stamp set with several heads that snap onto a handle.  I photo shows a regular hammer, but you should use a hammer or maul designed for leather working.  Steel hammers will damage the tools.  Hold the design part of the stamp in place to reduce chatter (multiple impressions because the stamp moved).  Hit the handle hard several times.  You want to make sure the whole stamp image is impressed into the leather.

Let the leather dry completely before dying.  

Wipe the dye over the leather except for the stamped area.  Once the color is even, lightly wipe the dye over the stamped area.  The image stands out best if the impressed area is either lighter or darker then the rest of the leather.  The more you work it the more even the stamped area's color will be.  For more precise control, use a Testors micro sponge hobby brush to touch up and darken small area around the stamped image.